Today's the day!!

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

     As God’s partners, we beg you not to reject this marvelous message of God’s great kindness. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.

     In these two short verses, Paul is pleading with anyone reading this letter, that he wrote to the Corinthian church, to understand and accept God’s plan of salvation. In verse 2, Paul is repeating a line that was proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah in the book of Isaiah 49:8. This was a promise that God made many, many years before through the prophet Isaiah, that at just the right time, he would hear our desperate cries for help and send Jesus Christ to provide salvation and help for our troubled souls. All we would have to do is accept that help.

  Have you accepted this help from the Lord? Are you crying out each and every day for an answer to your troubled heart and life? Do you yearn for more out of life? It’s as simple as asking the Lord to take control of your life and believing and understanding that by the shedding of His blood on Calvary that He has made a way for you to be in right standing before God. Take some time right now to simply sit in quiet stillness before God and ask him to be your Savior, not just for today, but for each and every day for the rest of your life. This is one decision that you will never regret! Make today YOUR day of salvation!

If you took the time to accept God’s salvation for yourself, or you renewed your relationship with the Lord and would like to know what steps to take next, feel free to email me at hargrovewendy@yahoo.com.

Have a great day!

 

Where's Your Zeal?

A few weeks ago, a few friends of mine asked me if I would share my own personal daily devotion with them through email or facebook. So on Monday-Friday of each week I have not only shared my devotion, but also added some comments and questions to ponder. This has turned into a bigger project than what I orginally expected it to be. I am now taking this one step further and adding it to my blog site. If you would like to receive these on a daily basis, then I encourage you to become one of my followers on this site. Studying God's Word on a daily basis is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself! Let this be a jumping off point for you into a deeper relationship with the Lord and His Word!


2 Corinthians 5:11-21

It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we trying to pat ourselves on the back again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart before God. If it seems that we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Whatever we do, it is because Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, as though he were merely a human being. How differently I think about him now. What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!

All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Paul starts off by letting the Corinthian church know that his ministry was not about him being arrogant or patting himself on the back. He had a sincere heart to serve the Lord with his very life and make sure that everyone he came in contact with knew about the salvation plan of the Lord. Paul was radically passionate about what he was doing, which probably made him look pretty crazy to the outside world. His image or what he looked like to others meant absolutely nothing to him, all that mattered was that he brought glory to God by touching lost souls.

In the American Christian culture, we have allowed image and pride to creep into our ministry circles. Lost souls and bringing glory to God isn't always the major focus. How we are perceived by others seems to top the priority list instead. Focus is placed on things like the beautification of the church buildings, official counts of church attendance, outward appearance of our physical bodies. Don't get me wrong, those things in and of themselves are not wrong. We need to have excellence in all that we do for the Lord, but when those things trump or overrule our true purpose, then we are bringing glory to ourselves rather than to God.

Check your own heart today. Why do you call yourself a Christian? Is it to walk out your true calling and purpose, or simply to look good to those around you? Do you live out and model the true characteristics of that title or do you give others reason to label you as a hypocrite? I know, it's a tough question, but each of us needs to be able to answer it, honestly.

Paul goes on to say, that if you are really a Christian or Christ follower, than your life has to change. In other words, because you have a new focus, which is Christ Jesus, you begin to think and act differently. Not because there is a list of rules that must be adhered to, but instead, you have a new mindset and you don't want to act and think like you used to when you didn't understand what it meant to be a real Christian. Your new desire is to be more and more like Christ, which in turn, drives you to tell others about what Christ has done in your life. Once you realize the fact that, "once you were dead, and now you're alive", you can't help but shout it from the rooftops, and want others to experience the same freedom and hope that you now have.

Do you still have the same zeal and excitement that you once had for serving the Lord? Take some time today to think about and honestly answer that question. If your answer is "no", then ask the Lord to show you why. And then ask Him to show what steps you may need to take to reignite the passion, love and excitement in your Christian walk.

Have a great day!

Reconstruction

    My husband and I are in the middle of a bathroom remodel at our house. After living in our house for fourteen years, it was time to make some needed changes which included relocating major bathroom fixtures. We're about four weeks into the project and finally, some of the fun stuff is beginning to take shape. When I say "fun stuff", I'm referring to some of the exterior, cosmetic work. You know, the pretty stuff that you see as you enter the bathroom; tile, lights, faucets, mirrors, curtains.....etc.
     Right now, we're hanging tile in the newly expanded, dual-shower head shower. We've painstakingly scoured every inch of the tile aisle at the local store, trying to choose just the right style, color and size. After much deliberation, we loaded up our new found treasure and headed home, satisfied with our decision. As the tile began to be applied to the walls, every precaution was made to ensure that each tile was the correct distance apart and in the correct order so that the proper design would be achieved. With two of the walls already in place, my husband and I are very pleased with the progress.
     As I began to reflect back over the past four weeks, I realized that it took a lot of work to get to the stage that we're at right now. First came demolition, then planning and replacement, which involved exposing and moving pipes and wires. Next came rebuilding walls and finally, placement of tile and fixtures. If all the deep, hidden prep work had not taken place then the exterior, pretty stuff would have been flawed and not structurally sound, possibly crumbling under the pressure.
     Our life is very similar in comparison, especially as women. We place so much emphasis on the exterior, pretty stuff and often neglect the interior, deep-down issues. As long as we look good on the outside then it doesn't matter what is taking place on the inside, until one day, we crumble under the pressure.
     Due to a thyroid issue and good family genes, I have spent most of my life having a thin body frame. Many, many times over the years, women have been very open in sharing their heartfelt comments about my body shape, often times, negatively affecting my self-confidence and body image. I spent quite a number of years thinking that there was something wrong with me because I was too thin. When in reality, all the jokes, jabs and blunt comments were coming from insecure women thinking that if they could "just be thin", then their whole life would be perfect. That couldn't be any further from the truth. The exterior doesn't automatically make the interior perfect. Quite the opposite is true.
      Perfect the interior and the exterior will follow suite. Work on all the junk that's buried deep down inside. Throw out the garbage that has stacked up over the years. Expose all the wires of unforgiveness that you've been holding onto since you were a child. Rebuild the negative comments that were thrust at you as a teenager with positive truths from God's Word. Most importantly, allow God to begin to show you how He sees you, and why He's placed you here on this earth. Often times, you have to separate yourself from friends who place great emphasis on the exterior. Like begets like! Spend more time with those who are beautiful and strong on the inside. Dig deep into the Word of God and allow it to penetrate deep into your soul. You'll see that the scriptures confirm that God doesn't make any junk, and you are no exception to the rule, so quit believing all the lies that have been hurled at you.
      Begin on the road of reconstruction and in a matter of no time, your interior will begin to align with your exterior.... happy, healthy, whole, and pretty through and through.

     You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
                                                                                           Psalm 139:13-16

  

Self-promotion or God-promotion

 I opened a magazine the other day, and observed a full page advertisement promoting a Christian Conference. In that ad were pictures and names of the guest speakers scheduled for the event; "Prophet So and so....., Prophetess So and so......., Dr. So and so........, Bishop So and so." In today's Christian circle, names and titles have become the platform that leaders have built for themselves. Don't get me wrong, there are those who have worked hard and paid the price to legitimately add a few letters before their name. But I'm not talking about the educational cultural standard that many have earned through diligence, hard work, and student loans. What I'm talking about is a heart issue.
     When standing before a crowd of new people, how do you introduce yourself? Do you quickly introduce your list of accomplishments and titles, or do you simply state your name and let your character speak for itself? I guess what I'm trying to say is, "Do you promote yourself or do you allow God to promote you?"
     Glancing through the New Testament books, I took notice to how the authors introduced themselves at the beginning of each book. In the book of Romans, Paul calls himself, "Jesus Christ's slave, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News." In every other book Paul wrote, he always introduces himself in the same manner, either "as a slave of Christ, or as an apostle chosen by God."
     James introduces himself, in the book of James as, "a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." James was the brother of Jesus Christ himself! If anyone had the right or opportunity or throw his name and position around, it was him, but he chose to call himself a slave instead.
     In II Peter, Peter calls himself, "a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ."
     Jude, who was also a brother to Jesus, promotes himself in the book of Jude as, "a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James." He gives reference to his brother James, but leaves out the fact that he also is a brother to Jesus Christ.
     And finally, in the book of Revelation, John simply refers to himself as God's servant.
     Why do we, as Christians, allow the compromise of self-promotion to enter into our ministry? Where in the Word of God does it teach us to introduce ourselves in a manner that will glorify us, rather than glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ himself?
     Let's not rely on educational degrees, credentialing titles, and positions within the church to promote ourselves and validate our self-worth. We are children of the King of Kings. If we can't find our self-worth in that, than no amount of self-promotion will ever work!
     Do what you were placed on this earth to do. Do it unto the Lord, not unto man. God's approval is first and foremost. Allow God to open doors of ministry for you instead of forcing open doors that were never meant for you to walk through. If our steps are truly ordered of the Lord, then don't you think He is big enough to make sure we follow that path without having to promote our self to get there? If Jesus' own disciples and apostles referred to themselves as servants, how much more should we? Take an opportunity this week to offer yourself as a servant to someone, not for any accolades or attention, just simply to be His hand extended in love. As you adopt a servant hood attitude and begin to walk it out daily, you can rest assure that you will be God-promoted!

Don't think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen.  Romans 11:20
Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people.  Romans 12:16

Waiting......

We are fortunate to have our backyard completely fenced in, so all I have to do is open the door to let our dog, Toby out. He has full reign of the yard, and if I forget about him for awhile, I don't have to worry if he has wandered off or not.
Our back yard is surrounded by many oak trees where an enormous amount of squirrels like to make their homes. Due to that fact, our back yard is a playground for the squirrels where often times you will find them digging, climbing and scampering along the top of the fence. Toby, on the other hand doesn't find their behavior amusing, but rather annoying and challenging. Many days, you will find Toby wimpering and crying at the back door as he longingly waits for me to open the door so that he can chase and hopefully catch one of these hairy creatures. Luckily the squirrels always seem to outrun and outsmart our beloved Toby, but the challenge is always set before him and he never throws in the towel.
One day as I passed the window of the french doors, Toby caught my attention. There at the foot of our crepe myrtle tree, sat Toby. Staring intently up into the tree, he sat motionless as if waiting for a show to begin. I stopped for a moment to assess the situation, when I realized that he was waiting.....waiting for the squirrel to come down out of that tree! For nine long years, Toby has been chasing the same squirrels and only one time, that I'm aware of, has he even come close to catching one. But that doesn't deter, frustrate, or discourage him. He never gives up! He chases those squirrels with the same passion and enthusiasm EVERY time the back door opens and at times, even sits under a tree and waits on them.
It was at that moment that God spoke a word of truth into my spirit. How many times do I seek God for an answer or direction or simply just His presence and get discouraged when I don't see or feel the results that I want? When that happens I usually give up, throw in the towel and move on thinking that God doesn't want to talk to me, sit with me or move on my behalf. I usually lose my enthusiasm and passion and chalk it up to some sin I must have in my life or some inadequacy that I must possess. From the life of a dog, God showed me that I must push through and show some patience and expectation. I must not give up so quickly, but rather sit and wait patiently for the Lord. In an age of microwave, drive-thru Christianity, we have lost our ability to wait on the Lord. We expect to set the timer, push the button, hit the start key, and expect God to show up. As if we are the ones in control, waiting for the jeanie from our magic bottle to appear and grant our three wishes. What arrogance! WE are the created ones, serving an Omniscient, All-knowing God of the Universe. WE need to wait on Him, not vice-versa. When we humble ourselves, come down off our high horse, bow in His presence without our own agenda, it is THEN that He shows up and not one minute sooner!
Who knew that my dog would teach me such a valuable spiritual lesson?

They that WAIT upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint, they shall mount up with wings as eagles.
Isaiah 40:31

Never Forget Where You Came From

Thirty-one years ago, my family and I moved to Florida from Pennsylvania. I was 15 years old at the time. I didn't adjust to the move very well. I spent the last three years of high school as a very lonely and depressed teenager.
Something amazing happened in the midst of all the loneliness and depression though. I was invited to attend church with a girl who had just moved in, down the street from me. It was in that little Assemblies of God church that I heard about a God who loved me, accepted me, and died for my sins. That, in and of itself, was not a new revelation to me. After all, I had attended church my whole life. First in a Catholic church, until some of their beliefs and practices upset my Mother. Then somewhere around the time I was in second grade, we started attending a small Presbyterian church, where most of my childhood memories are centered around. In that little Presbyterian church, I learned of God and Jesus, and of a cross and a resurrection. I heard all the popular children's Sunday School stories, like David and Goliath and Daniel in the lion's den. I learned and memorized many songs from the hymnal that was stored in the back of each pew. As I grew older, I even attended the Youth Group that was held each Sunday afternoon at the Minister's home. I thought, since I had attended church all my life, that I knew everything I needed to know about church and God.
But as I sat in that A/G church in Florida, I was taught something that I had never heard before. That the God of the universe loved me so much that He wanted to have a personal relationship with me! That revelation transformed and continues to transform my life to this day. That lost, lonely and depressed girl became complete and whole through the love of her Heavenly Father.
Fast forward thirty-one years, which brings us to today. After all these years, I was able to revisit that little Presbyterian church where it all started for me. I walked on the wood floor that made the same creaking sound as it did many years ago. I sat in the same wood pew that once held my fidgety little body. I browsed the same hymnal that I once held as we sang songs that I did not fully understand their meaning. I admired the same stained-glass windows that brought such comfort to me as a child, with images of my wonderful Jesus. Revisiting this church, and remembering where I came from was very therapeutic and fulfilling for me. It stands as a marker in my life. One that reminds me of not only my roots, but of the fact that God has had his hand of mercy and grace on me from the beginning. Even when I didn't fully understand who He was or how He fit into my life.
Now everytime I sing an "old hymn", memories of that Presbyterian church flood my mind and I an overwhelmed with a sense of awe and graditude for a God who knew me and loved me from the very start.

Wendy

Missions Trip to Ecuador

I took my third missions trip and headed to the country of Ecuador. This may sound like a trivial task but in reality, it was a huge monumental accomplishment in my life. Fear tends to hold me back from even the shortest of road trips within the United States, so to travel outside of the country is nothing short of miraculous. Each time I go, I step through the fear that nearly paralyzes me, and hold onto the faith that I know that God is directing every step that I take.

Once on the ground in Ecuador, we were immediately confronted with the poverty and hopelessness that is so prevalent outside of the United States. As we were loading our baggage onto the bus, a little girl not more than 6 or 7 years old, stepped right into the middle of our group. As we continued our task of luggage placement and chatting with our assigned missionary couple, the little girl continued to move among us softly mumbling something in her native language. Without acknowledging her, I quickly surveyed the perimeter, looking for any sign of adult supervision for this child. I found none. Soon after boarding the bus, someone from our group bravely posed the question to our missionary guides, "Who was that little girl?" The answer was as hard to swallow as the experience itself. In a city of two million people, children are forced to beg for a myriad of different reasons, none of which I want to accept or even contemplate. We were left to wonder what situation this particular girl was living in, but the fact that she could be homeless and left on her own with no family, was absolutely astounding to me.

After that first eye-opening experience, my heart continued to take in the sights and sounds of a country thousands of miles away from mine. Words can not adequately express what I saw or experienced during my week in Ecuador. It has a natural beauty that only God could have created, but it also exudes a heavy hopelessness that was expressed in the many faces that were flashed before me.

What did we do while we were there? We helped to build a church. We worked with rebar, wood and cement. We met fellow believers in Christ, who not only worked along side us, but also expressed love and appreciation to those of us who traveled a long way to lend a helping hand. We experienced a culture so profoundly different than ours, and yet in the process, our hearts and lives were changed forever.

What did I learn on this trip? I learned that we are a blessed people. I learned to stop taking things like food, cars and air-conditioning for granted. I learned to love and appreciate the family and friends that are in my life, because you never know when they could be taken away from you. The greatest thing I learned is that by walking through the greatest fear in your life, you can experience the greatest joy in your life!

Wendy